Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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57. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the extent to which she remains satisfied that this country continues to be an active location for indigenous and foreign direct investment; the extent to which competition in the market place is evident in this area; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [49786/17]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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This Government is committed to maintaining Ireland’s competitive edge. That is why we introduced a pro-business Budget with record levels of multi-annual funding and tax measures which will allow businesses across Ireland to develop, scale, innovate and embed.  

My Department recognises the importance of Ireland remaining an active location for indigenous and foreign direct investment. Enterprise Ireland is the state agency that has responsibility for the development of Irish enterprise, deepening Ireland’s footprint in world markets, and supporting employment creation in our economy. Supporting Irish businesses in the manufacturing and internationally traded service sectors and also FDI food companies located in Ireland, Enterprise Ireland supports companies in every region of Ireland to start and scale, innovate and remain competitive on international markets.

Enterprise Ireland is working with client companies through a network of market and sector advisers from 10 offices located throughout the country and 33 international offices across the globe. At the centre of the agency’s strategy, Build Scale, Expand Reach 2017 – 2020, are strategic targets focused on:

- Assisting clients to create 60,000 new jobs by 2020 while sustaining the existing record level of jobs;

- Growing the annual exports of client companies by €5bn to €26bn per annum;

- Increasing the level of spend made by client companies in the Irish economy by €4bn to €27bn per annum by 2020; and

- Inspiring more Irish owned companies to have global ambition.

The 5,000 manufacturing and internationally traded services companies that Enterprise Ireland works with are a critical source of existing employment and job creation in every county in Ireland. Enterprise Ireland’s 2016 activity highlights presented below clearly show how Ireland is an active location for indigenous and foreign direct investment.

- Enterprise Ireland supported companies employed 201,108 people. In 2016 19,244 new jobs were created resulting in a net gain of 9,117 jobs across the country.

- Enterprise Ireland clients recorded exports of €21.6 billion, up 6 per cent on 2015 export figures, with all sectors reporting growth.

- In 2016, Enterprise Ireland supported the establishment of 229 new internationally focused start-ups (including 101 High Potential Start-Ups) across a range of sectors which will create over 1,500 jobs over the next three years.

- Supporting market-led innovation, Enterprise Ireland approved 78 R&D investments of over €100k to client companies. 950 client companies were engaged in R&D projects with an annual spend of over €100k. A top tier of 140 clients were engaged in R&D projects with an investment of over €1 per annum

- Enterprise Ireland’s equity and venture capital investment was €85 million in 2016.

IDA Ireland’s main objective is to encourage investment into Ireland by foreign-owned companies, and their success is measured by the impact on the Irish economy of FDI and IDA supported companies. From an IDA perspective, our overall FDI offering which despite an increasingly competitive global environment, remains very attractive to overseas companies.

Multinational companies invest in Ireland for many reasons, not just one. Ireland has a strong pool of highly skilled workers and a first-class education system that produces top-level graduates. Our country benefits as well from favourable demographics – over 40% of our population is under 29, making ours the youngest in the EU. Our membership of the EU is another key selling point. When companies establish operations here, they immediately benefit from barrier-free access to an EU market of over 500 million consumers.

Ireland is simply a great place to do business: we offer strong incentives for research and development, a rich talent pool and a stable and competitive corporation tax regime.

IDA Ireland had a record year in 2016 and total employment at overseas companies now stands at 199,877 people, the highest level on record.

IDA client companies created 18,627  jobs (11,842 Net New Jobs) on the ground during the year across a range of sectors, with every region of Ireland posting net gains in jobs. The latest results indicating a strong performance by the organisation towards delivering its 2019 target of 80,000 new jobs and 900 investments.

IDA Ireland’s strategy for 2015-2019 includes a commitment to increase foreign FDI in every region outside Dublin by 30%-40%.  The Agency made good progress towards achieving this goal in 2016, with 52% of all jobs created by IDA Ireland's clients last year based outside of Dublin.